Nx OsOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2018-0456

HIGH · 7.7 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-10-17
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
83/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
A vulnerability in the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) input packet processor of Cisco NX-OS Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to cause the SNMP application of an affected device to restart unexpectedly. The vulnerability is due to improper validation of SNMP protocol data units (PDUs) in SNMP packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted SNMP packet to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the SNMP application to restart multiple times, leading to a system-level restart and a denial of service (DoS) condition.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

A vulnerability in Cisco NX-OS Software's SNMP input packet processor allows an authenticated, remote attacker to send a crafted SNMP packet with improperly validated PDUs, causing the SNMP application to restart unexpectedly. Repeated restarts can trigger a system-level restart resulting in denial of service.

MitigationApply the relevant Cisco NX-OS security patch or upgrade to a fixed version. As an interim measure, restrict SNMP access to trusted management networks and limit SNMP users/communities to reduce attack surface.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Nx OsOperating system
Affected:= 9.2\(0.43\)

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check NX-OS version
    Run 'show version' or 'show version | include NXOS' on the device CLI and locate the installed NX-OS release string
    Affected if The version displayed equals exactly 9.2(0.43)
  2. Verify SNMP is enabled
    Run 'show snmp' and look for SNMP engine status and configuration details
    Affected if SNMP is enabled and operational on the device
  3. Check SNMP user or community configuration
    Run 'show snmp user' or 'show snmp community' to list configured SNMP credentials
    Affected if One or more SNMP users or communities are configured (authentication required for exploitation)
  4. Determine SNMP access scope
    Run 'show snmp group' or review SNMP access control lists (ACLs) applied to SNMP
    Affected if SNMP is accessible from untrusted network segments or management interfaces

A device is affected if it runs NX-OS version 9.2(0.43), has SNMP enabled with at least one SNMP user/community configured, and the SNMP service is reachable from where the attacker would send packets.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the relevant Cisco NX-OS security patch or upgrade to a fixed version. As an interim measure, restrict SNMP access to trusted management networks and limit SNMP users/communities to reduce attack surface.

Fix this in Nx Os Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-0456 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data